I have a problem with my laptop. I cannot seem to connect to my wireless router at home. I see the strong signal and put in the correct passkey, but all I see is "Acquiring network address." I had another laptop using a PCMCIA Wireless card and could not connect. So at first I assummed it was the router problem, then I just bought a brand new router.

Then it still doesnt work and gives me the same message. My brother laptop however works. The thing is that my laptop is newer than his. I have no idea what the problem is.

It just keeps trying to connect forever and forever, has that message "Acquiring network address."

I read on some posts that it could be a DHCP problem? I have no idea how to fix that.

Hi there
This can often be an issue with security encryption. There may be a wrong key entered or the client adaptor does not support the encryption used.
To try and solve this first change the SSID on your AP so your laptop will be forced to create a new profile. Then set security to basic WEP 64bit and try to connect again. Update the wireless adaptors drivers.
If you have any third party Firewalls, try and temporarily disable them to make sure they aren't blocking it.
Good luck
Dale

I don't believe i have to register to voice my excitement that i got my laptop to go wireless.
But here goes.. ok after reading so many blogs and forums on the problem, and having tried everything.. my laptop could not go wireless BTW i am not very good with networking and technical stuff, call me a NEWBIE, it did go wireless before perfectly, but now it gives me 'Acquiring network address' (stalls), and connectivity status: Strong.

But thank god for younger brother who came back from holiday, who stated the obvious.
The problem was that my laptop was carrying a out of date wireless card, or adapter, still works perfectly but is not compatible with the new wireless router. New wireless router, or more up to-date wireless routers carry many new features, which my old wireless card cannot access. So one solution is to limit the new features on the wireless adpater, to make it compitable with your wireless card. or get an update wireless card or adpater.

I am having the same problem, but I am not sure how to change the SSID name as previous posts have recommended. When I click on properties for my network the name under SSID is grayed out. The ones I can change are Network Authentication (currently set to WPA-PSK) and Data encyption (currently set to TKIP).

My wireless network was working fine and then went on vacation for a week. When I powered things back up, I've been getting the Acquiring Network Address loop that leads to Limited or no Connectivity.

I work with computers all the time, and have been getting stuck with this message a lot. Bumbling through like everyone else. I found a solution today and have a theory on how it happens. I believe it happens when the data structure that is passed to set up the network is damaged it simply stops working and gives you the message “ Acquiring Network Address” Which actually that is what is is trying to do.
How or why for us I don't think matters much. This is a solution that I had come up with when I had three laptop computers on the network and a identical laptop that was on the other day working and today not working.

I found and deleted the network place off the computer. The computer then recognized it as a location I could sign into. I selected it and had to enter the network key. And it came up the first time.

Don't know if it will solve all the problems that I have read about. But it certainly worked for me.

ok...... I had to register to send my thanks to GoWifi's response. After visiting countless forums (literally hours on googel,lol) all i had to do to fix "Acquiring Network Address", was too go to my router, reset my WEP key and enter the new one. Make sure the key is the right format,mine is 128-bit. I did those things and it seemed to do the trick ...thanks again and good luck to all with this issue

I have been trying to resolve this "acquiring network address" issues for about a week. Computer successfully logs onto a couple of networks but not at one site where I have three other laptops and a wifi phone connected.

Tried just about everything I could find on the net but nothing worked . . . . . . well I just solved it and as embarressing as it is I thought I would share the solution with you all.

Capitalisation - yep the WPA code as written down used capital letters and numbers but the entry needed to be in lower case - an error in transcription during the last reset and I just kept on keying it in as written down.

All I can say is sometimes you need to think a little laterally and go back to first principles.

i just bought a new hard drive, the guy who reinstalled everything in my computer put windows VISTA (which i previously had and hated and previously already took off and reinstalled XP) anyway, i had to reinstall XP again coz i hate vista. I downloaded all drivers for xp from ACER website. Some worked , others didnt.

I finally installed all the drivers for the wireless network, think im using atheros 802. I never had problems before (first time i replaced vista with xp and had to reinstall everything) but now i keep getting an "acquiring network address" message even though everything appears to be connected but i cannot access internet browsers or connections.

I read some responses on the forum, but call me computer illiterated... i cannot understand where to go and find all those things everyone wants to change and such...

Hi there
This can often be an issue with security encryption. There may be a wrong key entered or the client adaptor does not support the encryption used.
To try and solve this first change the SSID on your AP so your laptop will be forced to create a new profile. Then set security to basic WEP 64bit and try to connect again. Update the wireless adaptors drivers.
If you have any third party Firewalls, try and temporarily disable them to make sure they aren't blocking it.
Good luck
Dale

You were really helpful! I've been working on this for one whole day already and you were the only one that was able to help!!! THANK YOU! I had to register to thank you! Thank you so much!!!

This worked for me after weeks that my laptop would not connect wirelessly (constantly acquiring IP address) to my home netgear router. All other laptops in house were OK and my laptop fine on every other network I tried (I travel a lot). All I did was log onto the router and change the router SSID (name). You have to re-enter the WEP code (I used the same old one) and voila - connected wirelessly in a split second. What a relief - I can go back to working in front of the TV!

I did everything Gowifi said but I don't know how to update the wireless adapter? Anyway, it is now connected by I'm still having problems with it saying "limited or no connectivity" so my laptop is still not able to go wireless.

I know this was written ~2 years ago, but I'm still hoping someone can help me out. Please.

Wow, I almost had the exact same situation on a WinXP Pro machine. I kept getting "Acquiring Network address" and although I did have internet connectivity, my wireless adaptor would reset after a while and I had to repair the connection all over again just to have the same scenario.

I tried releasing and renewing the IP via command prompt ipconfig/release and then ipconfig/renew but to no avail.

I was connecting with the right 64-bit WEP key when connecting to the network, but little did I know, in my wireless network connection properties, under the Wireless Networks tab, in the preferred networks section, I did not have the right WEP key.

Upon pressing the properties button with my preferred network, on the Association tab, in the I verified all the settings in the Wireless Network Key section, replaced the WEP key in both the network key sections, and...problem solved...I was officially "Connected".

I'm not normally one to respond with a thank you to threads like this, but felt the need to due to the fact that I would have failed a paper if not for some of you.

Here is what I did:
There have been many suggestions and I used these recommendations a bit. Truth is all you may have to do is go into you router settings and change something then back. Example: Delete the last letter of the SSID and immediately put it back. That allows you to then hit apply and that is all you need. At least that worked for me. In essence you aren't changing anything just kind of resetting the router. I doubt this will solve the problem any time it happens as there can probably be more than one cause, but this is easy and can work.

Check my post re setting a static ip address for your wifi adapter
If you don't understand, post on here or google setting static ip address on wifi adapter; this should work. The securityon your connection wpa etc. should be disabled while you do this.

Hi. New to the forum so I will not come here claiming to know it all. I've had a flawlessly working netwok at home using three different D-Link routers until I bought an IBM-T41 off ebay with an internal Atheros a/b/g card and set the wireless connection up as I had always done with the T23s that I have worked with for the past two years with no problem. At this point, it gave me the dreaded "Aquiring Netork Address" message and would (or would not) connect, but with limited or no connectivity. Also, I bought another T41 with a Cisco internal card that gave me the same message so I ruled out the internal card as the problem. Another thing that happened was that the T23 I used to be able to connect with originally would give me the same message. Again, I never had this problem before. At first I though it was a Windows XP setting, but after tweaking XP and (to no end) the router, I found that disabling the DHCP 'Always broadcast' setting on the router cured the problem.

One thing I suspect is that the T41s I bought both have Norton Antivirus loaded on them. I didn't try removing the software so I cannot say that it is the problem, but it could be. I did try to disable them and try to connect, but it did not work. I've read online where it can cause other problems such as this but everything seems to working good now, so I'm sticking with setting the 'Always broadcast' off for now.

The real answer is to update your wireless drivers, then in win zero config util,
check 'use windows to config my wireless settings' Hit OK at the bottom to save this. Then go to the advanced tab at THE BOTTOM of the wind zero config utility, CHECK THE MIDDLE BOX;"ACCESS POINTS ONLY"
That should stop an invalid 169.xxx ip address w a caution sign on it.
The real solution to the acquiring ip address problem is to set a static ip address in your wifi adapter's tcp/ip settings. Check thru my other posts on here on exactly how to do that; if you don't understand something in the procedure I describe, please post on here.
(do not use 3rd party config software to setup your wifi adapters, always use windows zero config tool(built in windows os)

Although I 100% agree with theonetheonly's solution to the problem, it defeats the purpose of having a wireless laptop in the first place. If you assign a static ip to the laptop you use with your network, you are pretty much stuck to your network to get a connection. If you're out and about and try to find a 'hot-spot', then you have to hope that the gateway for the connection has the same address and, even if the laptop sees the connection, that you're not sharing an ip address with someone else and that your assigned static ip is within the range of that wireless router. I would think it would be a bit of a pain to turn 'obtain an ip address automatically' in the TCP/IP settings off everytime you went out then turn it back on (which means you have to re-enter the settings) everytime you got back home or wherever you set the laptop to connect to originally.

Again, I agree that it is a rock solid-solution to the problem, but only if you're content to use the wireless connection with the network you set it up with originally. Otherwise, it is only a band-aid and not a solution.

I tried changing the SSID and security as suggested and the new network showed up immediately. Also shut down firewall. WA software is the latest. However, when I tried to connect and put in the security phrase I got the message that no wireless networks were found. . . . . yet the same old "acquiring network address" in shown in the notification area.

Tried connecting a second time and again the network showed up but would not connect at all.

Any help is appreciated. I have been working on this for three days now.

Although you might think it as a pain in the ***, it really only takes 2 minutes to change your manually config wireless adapter back to the default, obtain an ip address and dns automatically.
If you want a permanent solution, do as the fellow on here did: buy an alfa
500mw (.5watts) usb high powered usb wifi unit which is approx 50.00 on ebay.
Your signal will go from low to very good or excellent. The key is the realtek
rtl8187 chip on it, that pulls in weak signals easily and as a result, your speed will increase 3 x on the download(mine did, used two online speed tests to check the performance when I recd the alfa unit)
There is a post on here from me about this unit and the gentleman who took my advice and bought the device on ebay; if you go through my posts, you can read about it.
Quality drivers come with quality wifi adapters; Netgear, Linksys, Dlink are all second rate companies with overpriced inferior products.
For your purpose, for wifi hopping or "war driving" I recommend this product.
When I download files in the evening, the transfer rate is over 525Kbps!

I'm not disputing the fact about the signal; I disagree that it will help the problem. I was within 20 feet of the router when all of this happened, which worked perfectly before. My solution is like any other solution, it worked for me. If you want to enter a house, you can go in the front, side or back door. You're still in the house! I think all of the solutions here are good, including yours. Suggesting better signal strength will help the signal strength, but may not address the problem. Much like an automobile that uses oil and saying that the solution is to add oil every time it gets low. Takes care of the problem, but is it the solution? I have no clear answer for the aquiring address problem, only what worked for me.

As far as changing the ip address settings, I doubt very many people keep them in their back pocket for handy reference. I agree that it would only take a couple of minutes, but why would one have to do that?

Again, I haven't seen one solution that solved everyones problem here, so let's just leave it at that.

I have several t40 laptops(similar to yours); forget about using the internal wifi card, it is on the same level as those inferior brands I mentioned.
I use the 2.0 usb ports with the alfa usb 500mw adapter or other adapters using the realtek chip. The acquiring address problem I had with linksys and netgear products; due to the weak signal strength + inferior drivers+ crappy hardware with a built in "antenna"??= crappy performance/ invalid ip 169.xxx,
all types of problems. I have been experimenting with wifi products for at least 5 yrs. I am very familiar with this problem and am by the way a laptop tech as well(working with computers and OS since 2000).
If you don't want to take a chance on something new or don't have the bucks, that's on you. But as Obama said;"if something doesn't work(Middlle East situation) you have to try something else."
The ball is in your court, you can continue to deal with an annoying situation as you are doing or try new products as I have suggested.
If you don't want to invest in quality wifi hardware, you will continue to suffer with the symptoms.
And that goes for everyone else on here who is dealing with the 'acquiring ip address' problem.
End of post.

Are you saying that your solution will take care of every connection problem that occurs with a laptop that has a crappy internal wirless problem? I wouldn't think so. Besides, how many laptops have been produced that have an intenal wireless card? If all were that bad, the manufactuers would probably not include them with the unit and suggest that one would go with the 'ball and chain' adatpter you have suggested. Also, I have a wireless N router. Can you tell me how I can achieve 300mbs on my laptop with the alfa?

I appreciate your experience with laptops and respect you for that. I, also, am an electronics technician with 23+ years in board level repair, test engineering experience and IT experience. I am sure you are more experienced with laptops than I am. But, when it comes to troubleshooting, I will put my foot down to say that there is not one solution to any problem. All my years of experience has taught me that. Too many variables, too many solutions! Peace!

Wireless .
N; Bought one rather expensive dlink adapter wireless N technology, tried every driver on dlink's site; anyway shipped it back to dlink: they are sending me a replacement(did not ask for any sales receit, just told level 3 tech that I bought it 6 wks ago made up serial #)
I will let you know how that works when I receive it back this coming week.
(of course I don't think I have wireless N networks in my vicinity)
The alfi is for 54Mbps
All of the internal wifi cards that came installed even with Sony vaios diid not even come close to the external usb w antenna jack on card(not built in antenna)
You probably should look for a wireless n adapter with an external jack for a external indoor/ or outdoor antenna on the wireless card.
If you go to Staples store, buy it there(try it out, save invoice and original packaging); if you like it, return it to the Staples store for a full refund(no questions asked)
Then you buy the same product on ebay for 40 or 60% less then the price in Staples. You follow?
Good Luck.

Thanks for the response. The d-link wireless 'n' router I have now works great, but since I'm trying to make everything compatible, I've backed it off to 'b/g' mode. I do have one laptop that has an 'n' adapter which I would like to get back up to the speed I had before I purchased these (and I say this lightly) laptops with internal wireless. Since I have another d-link router that is 'b/g' compatible, is it possible to use the two routers together to achieve a 'b/g' connection with one and an 'n' connection with the other? I've read some other discussiions here that say you can use two routers together as long as they have two different gateways and different broadcast channels. Makes sense to me, but what is your take on this? Will it work with one being 'b/g' and the other being 'n'?

I thought I'd join up to post another possible solution that worked for me. None of the above mentioned things worked, though I didn't go all the way to the end of the page so excuse me if this was already described. All I did was go into the TCP/IP settings under Properties of the network and forced it to use an IP address in the range of the router (192.168.1.4 in my case) then put in the gateway (192.168.1.1). Then for the DNS address I went to the router setup page (accessed on mine by typing 192.168.1.1 into the web browser) and found it in there and entered it into the fields. Clicked OK and all of a sudden it worked.